1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an entertainment system which includes portable electronic devices, such as portable game terminals and memory cards and a host machine which is connected to said portable electronic devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Portable electronic devices or subordinate machines such as traditional memory cards that are used, inserted into a master information system such as a video-game machine, are composed of an interface to connect to the main body (host machine) of the information apparatus and nonvolatile storage cells to store data.
Recently, considerations have been made to equip subordinate machines that are connected to a host machine, such as a video-game machine, using memory-card slots, with a function to execute a program such as a game. Since such subordinate machines can be used as portable game terminals as such, their applied field is expanded, and they lead to a rise in new demands.
Conventional portable electronic devices such as the above-noted portable game terminals are given special or proper identification numbers including identification characters and symbols. Although these are convenient for manufacturers to distinguish them from others, they do not have much use for users. Even if they can be used to distinguish them from other electronic devices one has at hand, it is not very interesting.
It is an object of the present invention to avoid the above-noted actual situation. It is another object of the present invention to provide a portable electronic device and an entertainment system that generate proper characters using identification numbers, and giving users a sense of familiarity, for example, by displaying them in the display means.
These and other objects of the present invention are obtained by a portable electronic device having an interface to connect to a host machine with a program-execution function, comprising an identification-number holding means for holding proper identification numbers, an input-operation means to execute an input operation, an operation-information generation means for generating operation information in accordance with the input operation from said input-operation means, an operation-information storage means for storing the operation information from said operation-information generation means, and a character-information generation means for generating proper character information in accordance with said operation information and gene information, upon receiving, via said host machine, gene information that determines the character-transmission factor of the character corresponding to said proper identification number.
In order to solve the above-noted problem, of the conventional entertainment systems an entertainment system of this invention comprises a host machine having a program-execution function and subordinate machines equipped with an interface to connect to this host machine, wherein said host machine transfer information which accompanies the execution of a program to said subordinate machines, and said subordinate machines include an identification-number holding means for holding proper identification numbers, an input-operation means for executing an input operation, an operation-information generation means for generating operation information in accordance with the input operation from said input-operation means, an operation-information storage means for storing the operation information from said operation-information generation means, and a character-information generation means for generating proper character information in accordance with said operation information and gene information on receiving, via said host machine, gene information that determines the character-transmission factor of the character corresponding to said proper identification number.
In this entertainment system, the host machine reads out, as the program is being executed, gene information corresponding to the proper identification number from the recording medium and transfers it to the subordinate machine. Also, the subordinate machine may be equipped with time-information generation means to continuously generate time information, and the character-information generation means generates proper character information in accordance with the time information, said gene information, and the operation information.
In the entertainment system, a plurality of said subordinate machines can be provided. In such a case, the multiple subordinate machines generate proper character information and display multiple character images in their display means that are connected to the host machine based on the respective proper character information.
Furthermore, in the entertainment system, the two specified subordinate machines connected to the host machine generate character information related to an imaginary subordinate machine in accordance with respective gene information and operation information upon receiving, via the home machine, gene information corresponding to the proper identification number. And the two specified subordinate machines are equipped with a character-information storage means to store the character information and store, using at least one of the character storage means, the character information related to the imaginary subordinate machine.